Putting off the Natural Man

I would like to make this blog more interactive. I feel that would motivate me to write more often and create some great discussions. Here goes my first attempt at shifting the focus of the blog to make it more interactive:

I've put a lot of thought over the years into the following scripture from King Benjamin's sermon in the Book of Mormon:

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19)

There are a lot of things to learn from this verse and from the sermon that it comes from. One of the things that I've wondered about a lot are the attributes of the "natural man" and the "saint."

I would love to hear thoughts regarding these questions from anyone who reads this blog. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

What are some of the attributes that you have noticed of the natural man? The saint? 

One observation I've made (and experienced in myself) is that the natural man is a lazy man. I don't condemn relaxing and having leisure by any means, because there is a difference between leisure and laziness. Many times I have realized that I'm very unproductive with my time because of the thoughts and feelings of the natural man. "It's not that important to get that done today," the natural man tells me. "Look at everything you've done in the past. You're ahead of where other people are at in this aspect of your development. Just coast for a while," the natural man coaxes and persuades. Then I give in to the idea of doing nothing that evening, or that weekend, and the natural man wins.

The saint, on the other hand, is productive. The saint makes time for work, relaxation, leisure, meditation... but not for idleness. There is no place in the life of a saint for wasted time. The natural man in each of us would have us all judging each other and calling into question anything that everyone else does and how we spend our time. However, we are not the judges. God is the judge. He knows whether you are making time for the necessary relaxation time in your life or whether you are wasting time idly on pursuits that do not bring benefit to your life or the lives of those around you.

How have you seen success in putting off the attributes of the natural man and developing the attributes of a saint?

The times when I win the fight against the natural man are the times when I focus on the bigger picture. I know that every person I encounter each day is a child of God. I try to think the best of everyone. When I remember that perspective, it motivates me to take actions that the natural man would have persuaded me to avoid or procrastinate. I feel success in putting off the natural man when I don't put off the things that I need to do to improve my life and the lives of other people.